Post by TsarSamuil on Dec 19, 2018 16:13:57 GMT -5

In State Department we trust: Pompeo gives support to Ukraine’s new church amid fears of persecution.

RT.com19 Dec, 2018 17:27

Mike Pompeo has expressed support for Ukraine’s newly-formed schismatic church and religious freedoms. It comes as radical activists are on standby to seize property from the internationally recognized Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Ukraine is currently undergoing religious change that pits priests loyal to its government against those answering to Moscow church authorities, with tensions aggravated by the secular conflict between the two countries.

Last Saturday, members of the two unrecognized Orthodox churches in Ukraine decided to merge into a new entity, called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.” It’s technically part of the canonical Patriarchate of Constantinople, but is expected to be granted independence next month. The gathering was mostly ignored by the country’s biggest internationally recognized Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is an autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The so-called ‘unification’ is a crucial part of President Petro Poroshenko’s re-election campaign, so it’s hardly a surprise that Kiev’s key foreign sponsor, the United States, has formally approved the Saturday move.

US Secretary of State Pompeo phoned the newly elected head of the Kiev-backed church, Epifaniy, “to underscore US support for religious freedom and Ukrainian sovereignty,” according to a statement made by the State Department’s deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino.

Religious freedom in Ukraine however is far from being in perfect shape. The Moscow-loyal Ukrainian Orthodox Church is now bracing for persecution. Its property may be seized by force in favor of the new organization and its priests targeted by violent ‘activists’.

A call to ‘hunt’ down them was openly voiced by a far-right MP, the former leader of the radical nationalist Right Sector group.

The potential for violence should not be underestimated. Poroshenko on Tuesday called on radically-minded Ukrainians to show restraint. “I want to warn the radicals, who would tomorrow go and seize the churches against doing it. You will not be taking the churches from Moscow, but from the communities,” he said, adding that the conversion needs to be done through conviction.

The rhetoric seems to be pacifist, but there is a caveat. There are two draft bills floating around in the Ukrainian parliament, the goal of which is clearly to undermine the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as was explained recently by MP Aleksey Goncharenko, who belongs to the president’s faction in the parliament.

The new legislation forbids it from using the word “Ukrainian” in its name, for example. But more importantly, it would stipulate a procedure, under which church property can be forcefully transferred to a new owner on a request from the “community”.

Considering that dioceses don’t have lists of churchgoers, there is strong suspicion that the “will of the community” could be easily fabricated to give justification for ousting priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and replacing them with those loyal to Kiev.

Whether these fears materialize next year remains to be seen. But if they do, one can safely expect that the next report on freedom of religion coming from the US Department of State would not pay attention to the situation in Ukraine. After all, Pompeo supports it personally.

---------------

Mass Desertion as Ukraine’s Military Age Males Flee the Country, Refuse to Join New Mobilization.

Vesti NewsDec 19, 2018

65% of Ukrainians oppose martial law according to the latest poll. However, the situation at the border checkpoints shows the people's attitude to Poroshenko's election strategy even more explicitly. Kiev has banned all Russian men from entering Ukraine but now can't keep its own in. Ukrainian men liable for military service are literally fleeing to the neighboring countries.

Without hiding or concealing themselves, in front of the Europeans from the OSCE, Kiev is bringing in combat echelons to the front line with Donbass. How much heavy equipment and weaponry did they redeploy to Donbass by covert means? But anyway, it's Russia who's breaking the Minsk Agreements.

---------------

Kurginyan: Kiev Wants Bloodshed to Forever Drive a Wedge Between Ukraine and Russia.

Vesti NewsDec 19, 2018

Sergei Kurginyan, leader of Essence of Time movement: "You, Ukrainian nationalists, are creating a civilizational shock under the guidance of American handlers, who've moved from Fukuyama to Huntington. You need to split Ukraine. You'll be trying to do it until you bang into it."

A resolution by US Senators calling on President Donald Trump to spearhead "multinational freedom of navigation operation" in the Black Sea is inciting Ukraine to commit new military provocations, a Russian lawmaker says.

The resolution introduced by 41 US Senators on Wednesday urges Trump to retaliate against what it calls "Russian aggression" seen during a standoff between Ukrainian and Russian ships in the Kerch Strait in November. The Senators want the US to lead a "robust freedom of navigation operation" in the Black Sea, and call for an end to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, linking Russia and Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

The resolution calls on Trump to boost military assistance to Ukraine and impose additional sanctions against Russia, as well as encourage NATO to beef up its military presence in and around the Black Sea. It also encourages European nations to deny Russian Navy ships access to their ports.

On top of that, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who co-sponsored the draft, said that the US must "enhance lethal aid" to Ukraine. "We have to respond, and respond with strength," he said.

The resolution is a "reckless and very dangerous instigation," which emboldens Ukraine to commit new military provocations, said Konstantin Kosachev, the chair of the Russian Senate's Foreign Relations Committee.

Kosachev noted any provocation will fail since Russia can always cut off the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black and Azov Seas and separates Crimea from mainland Russia.

"Russia, no doubt, is capable of blocking the Strait in case of its unauthorized use, and it has already proved that to the fullest extent," Kosachev said. On November 25, three Ukrainian Navy vessels, including two combat-ready gunboats, entered the Kerch Strait without getting proper clearance first, according to Moscow. After ignoring multiple warnings and demands to stop, they were fired upon and seized by the Russian coast guard.

Russia won't hinder navigation for any countries' ships, provided they are abiding by the applicable rules and intend to use the waterway for peaceful passage, Kosachev said:"The passage was, is and, I hope, will be open."

That includes to Ukraine, but it has to make a choice: "Either keep trying to force an open door or learn to live by accepted maritime rules", he added.

The resolution comes several days after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution of its own, condemning the presence of the Russian military in the Crimean Peninsula and the surrounding waters of the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. The resolution is non-binding, and while it did get approved with 66 votes in favor, even more member states – 72 – abstained from voting altogether.

Kosachev said that the member-states who voted for it should bear a shared responsibility for any "crazy action" Kiev comes up with next.

---------------

Ukraine plans another incursion into Kerch Strait, hopes NATO ships will join in – top official.

RT.com20 Dec, 2018 10:42

Kiev is considering sending its Navy ships through the Kerch Strait again, a high-ranked official said weeks after a tense standoff between Russian and Ukrainian vessels in the area.

Another passage by Ukrainian Navy ships through the Kerch Strait which connects Black and Azov Seas might take place very soon, according to Alexander Turchinov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. “I think that this issue cannot be delayed,” he told BBC News Ukraine on Wednesday.

Turchinov, who briefly served as interim president after the Western-backed 2014 Euromaidan coup in Kiev, didn’t mince his words while explaining the rationale between the action. To him, Russia is after “seizing the Azov Sea,” install new maritime borders and “legitimize the occupation of Crimea.”

The only antidote to the plan is “to show to the entire world that Ukraine has not lost its position in the Azov Sea.” Turchinov was speaking several weeks after three Ukrainian ships attempted to break through the strait which Russia had closed on safety reasons.

On November 25, three Ukrainian Navy vessels, including two combat-ready gunboats, entered the Kerch Strait without getting proper clearance first, according to Moscow. After ignoring multiple warnings and demands to stop, they were fired upon and seized by the Russian coast guard, while the sailors were taken to custody.

This time, the official said he hopes Ukraine will not be left alone in the next endeavor. “It would be very logical if NATO ships which we invited [to visit] the Azov Sea ports make sure that Russia complies with international law,” he said, lamenting the military bloc provided no response yet.

Nevertheless, Turchinov hopes that “during the next passage of Ukrainian warships through the Kerch Strait they will at least send their observers to us.” Kiev had also invited officials from OSCE and other international bodies to be on board Ukrainian ships to prove “that Ukraine and its sailors do not violate any laws and international rules.”

The latter phrase sounds odd given that Moscow had accused Ukrainian sailors of deliberately violating Russia’s maritime borders in the Kerch Strait and breaking specific rules of passing through the narrow, complex water area. Top Russian officials maintained that this was a premeditated and provocative act plotted by the Ukrainian government.

Turchinov’s BBC interview was predictably met with little praise in Moscow. “This was just an announcement of another provocation,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday, calling it “utterly irresponsible.” She noted the inflammatory remark came at the time when “many Ukraine’s partners try to defuse tensions in this situation and seek ways of de-escalation.”

It also comes several days after the UN General Assembly passed a Ukrainian resolution, condemning the presence of the Russian military in the Crimean Peninsula and the surrounding waters of the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. 66 countries supported the non-binding resolution but 72 abstained from voting altogether.

---------------

‘Inappropriate’ for Pompeo to discuss Ukrainian church affairs with Kiev – Putin.

RT.com20 Dec, 2018 12:29

It’s “inappropriate” for US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss the creation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with Kiev, Vladimir Putin said, while also accusing Ukraine’s government of interfering with religious affairs.

“The Secretary of State calling Kiev and discussing these issues is absolutely inappropriate, but it happened anyway,” Putin told reporters on Thursday. He added that creating an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church was more about domestic politics than religion.

Pompeo had earlier this week reached out to Epifaniy, the newly elected head of the Kiev-backed church, to congratulate him and “to underscore US support for religious freedom and Ukrainian sovereignty.”

“What is happening in Orthodoxy is incomprehensible,” he lamented, adding that the Kiev government has been far from impartial when it came to splitting the Ukrainian Church from Moscow.

“This is direct meddling into the church and religious life. There hasn’t been anything like that since Soviet times.”

Putin said he is equally concerned about church property disputes in Ukraine. “It’s already going on and it can be grave – if not bloody.”

“I feel sorry for the people who stand for their interests, they are defenseless, unarmed, basically, they are the elderly and women.”

Last Saturday, members of the two unrecognized Orthodox churches in Ukraine merged into a new entity called the ‘Orthodox Church of Ukraine’. It falls within the jurisdiction of the Constantinople Patriarchate, but is expected to be granted autonomy next month.

Shortly afterwards, media reports suggested the Ukrainian Orthodox church loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate now risks having its property seized by force in favor of the newly-established church entity, while its priests may be hit by violent attacks.

President Petro Poroshenko called on radically-minded Ukrainians to show restraint. “I want to warn the radicals, who would tomorrow go and seize the churches against doing it. You will not be taking the churches from Moscow, but from the communities.”

Post by TsarSamuil on Dec 23, 2018 10:44:56 GMT -5

The IMF’s approval of a new $3.9 billion loan for Ukraine has already been hailed as a victory in Kiev. It’s just enough to cover some pension payments but will take a long time to pay off, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The executive board of International Monetary Fund (IMF) greenlighted a new 14-month loan package, the so-called Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), for an already debt-laden Ukraine on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s Finance Ministry was quick to laud the decision and call it a “victory” as it expects to receive the first installment of $1.4 billion by Christmas. Other tranches will come after completion of semi-annual reviews, the IMF said.

While the fund says the loan deal would preserve recent economic gains and pave the way for higher sustainable growth, it might backfire on the Ukrainian people, said Putin during his annual Q&A session on Thursday.

“We realize what the IMF tranche is – it is just to pay pensions and salaries in the social sphere, and then future generations will have to pay,” said Putin, answering RT’s question on citizenship for Ukrainians.

The president added that Moscow does not want to play into the hands of those who want to split the peoples of the two historically-linked nations, a goal that the current government in Kiev made its policy.

The IMF financial package, which replaces the previous four-year financial aid for Ukraine, had been ready in mid-October but the IMF board was waiting for the Ukrainian government to issue the 2019 budget with a deficit of $3.2 billion or 2.3 per cent of GDP.

Ukrainian authorities were also to complete a series of economic reforms before the aid was approved by the IMF. These included unpopular measures such as raising gas and heating rates and are considered to be a huge blow to Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko’s support in the upcoming elections.

The country’s national debt stands at more than $75 billion as of October this year, this includes external debt of $47.65 billion.

Despite figures showing that Ukraine managed to lower foreign debt by nearly $1.5 billion, next year may be tough for the country as it has to pay nearly $27 billion to foreign creditors, according to a forecast issued by authorities in December.

Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman put the figures even higher, saying that the external debt is more than $65 billion, given that the government borrowed more than $26 billion between 2007 and 2010, and an additional $20 billion in the four following years. He also admitted that the burden of the external debt is one of the biggest problems for the national economy.

“The biggest problem from an economic point of view is the pressure of foreign debts on the state, most of which were accumulated before 2014,” the prime minister said, adding that all this rests on the shoulders of the Ukrainian economy and its people.

---------------

Some more equal than others: Kiev passes law demanding Ukrainian Orthodox Church to change name.

RT.com21 Dec, 2018 16:19

The Ukrainian parliament has given yet another ‘example’ of how a secular nation should live. It passed a bill that requires the Moscow-tied Ukrainian Orthodox Church to change its name to a Russian one.

The Church is an autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was given larger independence from Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In practice the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is self-ruled in pretty much all matters, but considers Patriarch Kirill, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, its ultimate spiritual head.

But the Ukrainian authorities and many politicians claim its clerics are agents of Russia and had been pushing hard to undermine its role in Ukraine.

The latest such move came from the Ukrainian parliament on Thursday, when it passed a controversial bill, which basically demands that any religious organization “which has a center” in Russia change its name to reflect this fact. The lawmakers expect the Church to be called something like “Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine” and that the change will be made within four months.

The Church already rejected the demand and asked President Petro Poroshenko to veto the draft law. Archbishop Clement, the spokesman for the organization, also argued that even if the legislation was passed into law, it would not be applicable to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, despite MPs expectations to the contrary.

“Our charter says nothing about some foreign governing center. They may have meant someone else,” he told a Ukrainian public broadcaster. “Our Church has no reasons to change its name.”

Under the charter, the center of the Church is located in Kiev and that it is governed by a ruling council called the Holy Synod.

Clement’s counterpart in Moscow, Vladimir Legoyda, remarked that the Russian Orthodox Church itself is governed by a council, which regularly gathered in Kiev for sessions before relations between Russia and Ukraine soured in 2014.

The Ukraine bill also imposes some restrictions on the life of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. For instance, its priests will no longer be allowed to visit Ukrainian military units. The draft law was passed despite the parliament’s own expert body reporting that it would be unconstitutional and recommending the legislature to reject it.

The passage of the controversial document was also marred by a fistfight between MPs of rival factions immediately after. It was however not over the Church but about a poster which one of the legislators tore from the podium and others rushed to forcefully defend. Brawls however are quite regular in the Ukrainian parliament these days.

This week was the last for the parliament before a New Year recess, but when they come back in mid-January they are to take a vote on yet another draft law concerning religion. It establishes a procedure for forcing a change of ownership of church property, a mechanism that some people expect to be used against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Ukrainian government and President Poroshenko earlier personally spearheaded the unification of two schismatic Orthodox churches in Ukraine, a move that has the backing of the Constantinople Patriarchate and the US government. The newly-created organization is expected to be granted formal independence by Constantinople in January. The Russian Orthodox Church calls Constantinople’s claim, that it has the right to do so, false and has broken ties with it over the involvement.

---------------

US to give Ukraine extra $10mn for naval buildup in response to Kerch Strait incident.

RT.com22 Dec, 2018 04:19

The US will provide $10 million extra in military aid to help Ukraine beef up its naval capabilities, the State Department has announced, days after a Senate resolution called for such aid in response to the Kerch Strait incident.

Russia was ordered to "immediately return to Ukraine the seized vessels and detained Ukrainian crews" involved in last month's naval provocation and to allow Ukrainian ships to freely navigate the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov in Friday's statement from deputy State Department spokesperson Robert Palladino. The financial decision was made "in solidarity with" Lithuania and the UK, which also plan to step up their funding of the Ukrainian military, he added.

The State Department's announcement follows hints from Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council head Alexander Turchinov that the country might send more ships through the Kerch Strait soon, despite the tension. If Ukraine doesn't flex its muscles in the Azov, Turchinov told the BBC, Russia might "legitimize the occupation of Crimea."

Not wishing to lose three more ships, Turchinov invited NATO along for the ride this time, explaining "It would be very logical if NATO ships which we invited [to visit] the Azov Sea ports make sure that Russia complies with international law."

US senators introduced a resolution on Wednesday in support of the idea, calling for President Trump to retaliate against so-called "Russian aggression" by leading a "robust multinational freedom of navigation operation" in the Black Sea to counter "excessive Russian Federation claims of sovereignty." The resolution requested additional military assistance to Ukraine, a wish the State Department has granted in record time (subject to Congressional approval).

The resolution also calls for the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the imposition of yet more sanctions on Russia, even requesting European countries deny Russian Navy ships access to their ports for refueling and resupply purposes.

On November 25, three Ukrainian Navy vessels, including two gunboats, attempted to enter the Kerch Strait without receiving clearance from Russia. After disregarding multiple warnings, the vessels were fired upon and seized by the coast guard, along with 24 crew. Russian officials have called the Ukrainian incursion a deliberate, premeditated provocation, stating the Ukrainian vessels purposefully ignored "accepted maritime rules" and that all countries seeking peaceful passage are free to use the waterway.

Ukraine's military is already heavily subsidized by the US. Since the US-backed coup that put President Poroshenko's regime in power in 2014, the country has supplied Ukraine with over $1 billion in military aid, supplemented by $47 million in anti-tank missiles earlier this year. Kurt Volker, the Trump administration's envoy to Ukraine, promised an additional $250 million "foreign military-financing package" earlier this week.

One wonders just how outrageous ‘fake news’ must be in order to get busted, but Der Spiegel's ex-star reporter Claas Relotius got away with it all while writing for several outlets – maybe because it was about places like Ukraine.

Titled ‘Bribing prohibited’ Relotius’ piece on the new Ukrainian police has all the elements of his trademark style: dramatic narrative, likeable heroes – and entirely made-up ‘facts’.

The ‘report’, published by the Swiss magazine Reportagen in June 2016, tells a tale of two young people – Dimitri and Valeria – who became members of the rebranded police force of post-Maidan Ukraine. Given the recent revelations over his fictional reporting, it's now unclear whether Relotius met the duo in reality, but the story makes for a very compelling read indeed.

It states that each day before going on patrol, Dimitri and Valeria have been coming to the center of Kiev to pray near the “altar” erected in memory of those who died during the 2014 Euromaidan unrest. The two were among the protesters back then, it reveals, describing how they recall burning buildings, the “smell of corpses,” a man “with a child in his arms” shot dead beside an old well – and a ruined wall, where dozens were “slayed by snipers” and “rolled over by tanks.”

Wait, what? Given that the majority of victims in Kiev – both protesters and law enforcement officers – were killed over two days of murky clashes in February 2014, the “smell” of dead bodies appears to be a little of an exaggeration. No “old wells” could immediately be found in central Kiev, and there's nothing to back up the story about a “man with a child” either.

But most glaring of all, no “tanks” were ever deployed to curb the city unrest, so the “ruined wall” part was made up in its entirety. In reality, the police unsuccessfully tried to use light APCs to storm some barricades, but the vehicles were pelted with Molotovs and burnt down. At least the “burning buildings” part holds some water, as some central Kiev sites, including the Trade Unions Building, were indeed put to the torch.

It's not much of a surprise that the rest of the article is riddled with inconsistencies and false statements. Notably, it claims that the ousted President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, had a mansion where he “lived like a pharaoh, with banisters and baths made of pure gold.” The claim appears to be based on the long-debunked rumor that the protesters who stormed the president's lavish residence discovered a golden toilet.

Incumbent president of the country – Petro Poroshenko – is also described, for some reason, as a “billionaire praline manufacturer from Odessa.” Poroshenko has held several top government posts since the early 2000s, but this fact is not even mentioned in the article. He was indeed born in the Odessa region in the Soviet Union, yet the image of a “successful businessman from Odessa” seems to be quite a stretch.

Describing the old bribery mindset the new police officers have been supposedly battling, Relotius managed to make another, quite outlandish, mistake. The article says that the new police force was in use not only in the capital city of Kiev, but in other major cities, namely “in Kharkiv and Donetsk, in Lviv and in Odessa.”

The problem is, at the time of publication, the eastern city of Donetsk had for two years been under the control of anti-Kiev rebels, who rejected the Euromaidan coup, proclaimed their own republic, and had actual tanks and warplanes sent to crash them into submission – with only limited success.

It doesn't seem probable that the new Ukrainian police force would have been welcome there – a fact that may have eluded the disgraced Der Spiegel reporter. Just as it, sadly, would go over the head of many of his readers, submerged in the MSM reporting on Ukraine – a narrative often fed from the Kiev government's POV – and with little fact-checking.

---------------

Hunger games: Ukrainians spend half of their income on food, highest in Europe.

RT.com22 Dec, 2018 11:14

If you think basic items are costing you too much, take a look at this year’s research by RIA Novosti, which shows how much people in European countries spend on food, alcohol and leisure.

By far the highest expense for households in Ukraine is food, according to statistics revealing the spending habits of average families in 40 European countries. Ukrainians spend more than half their income – 50.9 percent – buying groceries, the study found. And few can afford to visit restaurants and hotels, where only 2.8 percent of their budget is spent.

Ukraine’s place in the ratings has not changed in two years, as a similar research in 2016 also put the country at the bottom of the list. Back then, 54 percent of its citizens’ incomes were spent on food.

Kazakhstan, which is also included in the study, sits in second-last place with 46 percent, while Moldova is the third worst with 43.4 percent of families’ incomes being spent on essentials.

At the other end of the table, there are countries in which people have other items on which to spend their money. Food accounts for just 8.8 percent of the family budget in Luxembourg, while they spend almost the same amount, 8.3 percent, in restaurants and hotels.

The British are the second-least-hungry nation, according to RIA, and one of only two states who prefer spending more money on leisure than in a supermarket. The study shows that food expenses account for 10 percent of British incomes, while 13 percent is spent on discretionary items like culture events and leisure. Notably, only Sweden is ahead of the UK in this regard, with 18.7 percent of its citizens’ income being spent on entertainment.

The Netherlands is third on the list with the least amount of money spent on food, with Ireland and Finland completing the top five.

Post by TsarSamuil on Dec 27, 2018 15:38:37 GMT -5

Ukrainian official invites British warship to cross Kerch Strait & see how Russia reacts.

RT.com23 Dec, 2018 10:56

A deputy minister in Kiev suggested that the British Navy should send its warship to the Sea of Azov to test Russia’s response. Moscow described the idea as ‘bonkers.’

“When it is being said that Russia won’t allow the passage of a British ship, I have one remark – has anyone tried it?” Yuri Hrymchak wondered during a talk show aired live on a Ukrainian TV channel on Friday.

Hrymchak serves as deputy minister of temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons – a department tasked with facilitating the ‘future return’ of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine. He was discussing last month’s naval standoff near the Kerch Strait.

On November 25, the Russian Coast Guard intercepted and seized two Ukrainian gunboats and a tugboat. Moscow accused the sailors of trying to enter the busy strait, connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov, while violating existing navigational procedures. In response, Ukraine accused Russia of unprovoked aggression against its vessels.

Since the Royal Navy hydrographic survey ship, HMS ‘Echo’ has no weapons on board, it is not bound by international regulations, which limit the activity of navies belonging to non-Black Sea states in the region, Deputy Minister Hrymchak argued.

“And it would be interesting to see how will [the Russians] would react if this ship sailed in a caravan” through the Kerch Strait, the Ukrainian official said. It is not entirely clear how serious he was about this idea.

Nevertheless, officials in Moscow blasted the suggestion as being out of touch with reality. It indicates “how dangerous the current regime in Kiev is for the world,” Russian Senator Frants Klintsevich said.

“This regime is descending deeper into a maniacal condition,” he added.

HMS ‘Echo’ was deployed to the Black Sea earlier this week. The vessel paid a visit to the port of Odessa, which hosts a Ukrainian naval base. The ship itself was visited by Secretary of State for Defense Gavin Williamson during his trip to the nation.

At this year's final meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian officials seem to have decided to ultimately put an end to Ukrainian-Russian relations. The officials prepared an address to President Poroshenko, asking him to sever all diplomatic ties and transportation links with Russia, as well as declare an actual war on Moscow. It's possible that their decision might have been influenced by the wild office party held the day before by the Poroshenko Bloc together with its founder.

Post by TsarSamuil on Dec 27, 2018 15:50:09 GMT -5

Poroshenko Running Out of Time! Marshal Law Expires Within One Week, Still No War!

Vesti NewsDec 25, 2018

A week remains until the end of martial law on the territory of 10 oblasts in Ukraine. Pyotr Poroshenko insisted on imposing the special regime after the Kerch Strait provocation. He desperately needs it right now. There's no other way to retain power. In order to prolong it, a new provocation is required, preferably a violent one. Donbass is the perfect place for such provocations. The Donbass military realizes that and carefully monitors the movements of the Ukrainian troops.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree expanding the list of Ukrainian individuals and legal entities under counter-sanctions. “The list of Ukraine’s individuals and legal entities, with special restrictive measures to be applied against them, has been expanded. I signed the relevant decree,” Medvedev tweeted. “This was done to protect interests of the Russian state, companies and citizens of Russia,” he said. On November 1, Medvedev signed a decree introducing special economic measures against 322 Ukrainian citizens and 68 companies. The counter-sanctions included freezing non-cash funds, non-documentary securities and property in Russia and banning transfer of funds, or withdrawal of capital, outside Russia. The measures are aimed at countering Kiev’s unfriendly actions against Russian citizens and companies and can be abolished if Ukraine lifts its sanctions, TASS said.

---------------

Poroshenko announces end to martial law in Ukraine.

RT.com26 Dec, 2018 12:57

Martial law, imposed on November 25 in some Ukrainian areas, expired on Wednesday, President Petro Poroshenko told the country’s security council. Poroshenko said this month he did not plan to extend martial law beyond the one month initially foreseen unless there was “a large scale attack from Russia.” Three Ukrainian Navy ships were detained earlier in the Kerch Strait, which controls access to the Sea of Azov. Moscow said the ships entered Russian waters while trying to cross the strait without prior notice, ignoring orders to stop. Under the martial law, Ukraine banned Russian men aged 16 to 60 from entering the country and boosted security at some facilities.

Islamic State-trained militants are fighting alongside a state army in a European country, the Times reports – but that detail is buried in an article talking about how Putin is a common enemy of Ukrainians and Chechens.

Framed as an inside look at what’s driving Chechens to join Kiev’s “anti-terrorist operation” against the breakaway republics in the east of Ukraine, the Times article has a few juicy quotes from one Mansur, a member of a voluntary battalion made up of Chechens.

“Putin is our common enemy… He brings only evil.”

Author and veteran anti-Putin writer Marc Bennetts echoes the official message of Kiev and its Western allies, calling the eastern Ukrainian rebels “Kremlin-backed” and claiming Moscow is “preparing a full-scale invasion.”

He also mentions, once, midway through the text, that some of the Chechen fighters in Ukraine admit having trained with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. Kiev, he writes, has no official links to them, but has been criticized for turning a blind eye to their actions.

Formalities out of the way, the article gets on with more important things such as how the “Kremlin-installed” leader Ramzan Kadyrov is not representative of the Chechen people.

“We want the world to know that it wasn’t Chechens who attacked Ukraine but the Kremlin,” it quotes Mansur as saying. “Kadyrov and the Chechen people are very different things.”

Kadyrov, a vocal, over-the-top supporter of Putin and Russia’s fight against global terrorism, is not a popular figure in the West – he has been accused of human rights violations, blacklisted by the US, and generally described as Putin’s “attack dog.”

The Chechen battalion in Ukraine – known as the Sheikh Mansur battalion – operates effectively outside the law. Its leader, Muslim Cheberloevsky, says it’s not subordinate to the army or the police – which is a legal requirement for any paramilitary organization in the country.

Still, in a 2017 interview he spoke about having a great relationship with Kiev’s forces: “If there are difficulties in one area or another, they call us, and we help.”

This isn’t the first time that the Sheikh Mansur battalion’s links to IS have surfaced. In September, Ukraine extradited one of the group’s fighters to Russia, where he was wanted by the FSB for fighting on side of IS in Syria. Ukrainian nationalists, including some lawmakers, were outraged by Kiev’s decision to surrender an ally to the “aggressor country.”

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army is set to receive $250mn worth of military aid from the US in 2019 – and with a history of the Pentagon losing track of weapon supplies and American arms turning up in terrorist hands, it will take close oversight – and, more importantly, willingness – on Washington’s part to prevent some of that aid from ending up with Kiev’s unofficial, IS-linked allies.

Kiev’s new law demanding that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church change its name to show affiliation with Moscow is “insane” and may ignite “bloody conflicts,” the primate of Russia’s Orthodoxy has warned.

Ukraine’s parliament recently passed a controversial bill which basically demands that any religious entity tied to Moscow change its name to reflect this fact. Kiev now wants it to be called the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, requiring the church to make the change within four months.

Commenting on the move, on Wednesday, Patriarch Kirill said the Ukrainian law was “completely insane in terms of modern law” and rules of secular state. In the West in particular, the government has nothing to do with what a church calls itself, he argued.

“When the state invents a name for a religious entity, desiring to discriminate and destroy it, it breaks all rights and laws of a civilized society,” the Russian Patriarch said. The government’s “openly blatant interference in church affairs” is unparalleled and leads to a “civilizational catastrophe.”

Kiev’s demand that Ukrainian Orthodox Church changes its name will be followed by reprisals and property disputes, according to the spiritual leader. “There’s no doubt that coercive acts to appropriate churches will begin… and it risks sparking bloody conflicts,” he warned.

Kirill, who leads the Orthodox faithful since 2009, lamented the crackdown on the church is “to break down the last connection between our [Ukrainian and Russian] people, which is spiritual one.”

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church itself has already rejected the demand and asked President Petro Poroshenko to veto the law. It argued that the controversial legislation wouldn’t be applicable to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“Our charter says nothing about some foreign governing center,” a spokesman for the church told Ukrainian media, stating that “our Church has no reasons to change its name.”

Under the charter, the center of the church is located in Kiev and is governed by a ruling council called the Holy Synod. Patriarch Kirill serves as a spiritual head of the Ukrainian Church.

Earlier in December, Ukraine created an Orthodox church of its own, declaring a split from Moscow. The country hosts three Orthodox churches, yet only one of them – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate – is recognized by other churches.

There are less than 100 days left until the presidential elections in Ukraine. They're scheduled for March 31st, 2019. The holidays will race by and March will be around the corner. But now we must understand the aspects of Ukrainian political culture because that culture colors all social processes.

Post by TsarSamuil on Dec 27, 2018 16:03:01 GMT -5

Ukraine takes control over two thirds of ‘gray security zone’ in Donbass – advisor.

RT.com27 Dec, 2018 11:57

Ukrainian forces have taken under control two thirds of the so-called “grey security zone" in Donbass, according to Ukrainian presidential advisor and aide to the Defense Minister Yury Biryukov. The “gray zone” separates the forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Ukrainian army. The borders of the zone are defined by the Minsk agreements, and sending troops to settlements in the gray zone constitutes a violation of the deal. The Ukrainian forces have repeatedly announced taking control of new positions in the “gray zone” over the time of their military operation in Donbass, TASS said.

---------------

‘End silence of the lambs’: Austrian reporter fears for his life in Ukraine.

RT.com27 Dec, 2018 14:03

A veteran Austrian journalist has urged for action against media crackdown in Ukraine, saying he fears for his life after being labeled “a Kremlin agent” by a vigilante website, according to Kronen Zeitung.

Christian Wehrschuetz, a correspondent with Austria’s leading ORF broadcaster, said it is increasingly hard for him and his employees to feel safe in modern-day Ukraine, Kronen Zeitung reported, citing excerpts from Wehrschuetz’s letter to the channel’s management and the Austrian government.

Wehrschuetz, who started his journalistic career in the mid-1980s, reportedly said there are “militant ultranationalist groups threatening journalists who critically report on the policies of Ukraine’s leadership and try to stay objective.”

The journalist claimed he and his employees were “harassed” while performing their duties as were other reporters critical of the Kiev regime. Wehrschuetz has recently been listed as a “Kremlin agent” by a Ukrainian vigilante website posipaka.org which found him guilty of producing reports from post-2014 Crimea.

The website, whose name stands for ‘henchman’ in Ukrainian, sees its mission in naming and blaming foreign reporters and politicians who are even remotely sympathetic towards Moscow.

Wehrschuetz noted that two journalists have already been killed and he “certainly” has “no intention of being next.”

His letter then urges to end “the silence of the lambs.” According to Wehrschuetz, Western powers are well aware of the poor state of press freedom in Ukraine but prefer to turn a blind eye to it.

The journalist implored the Austrian government and the ORF to step in and demand that Wehrschuetz’s name be removed from the controversial website.

Karin Kneissl, the Austrian Foreign Minister said that the “increasing restriction of press freedom in Ukraine is unacceptable” and that “the use of force and threats against journalists must be punished.”

While her statement stopped just short of blaming Kiev for targeting foreign reporters, it noted that they still have difficulty getting accreditation from Ukrainian authorities. Kneissl promised to raise this issue with a Ukrainian ambassador later in January

Ranked 101st in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index, Ukraine isn’t the safest place for reporters to work in. A number of journalists have lost their lives since the start of the 2014 war in Eastern Ukraine, with Pavel Sheremet, a renowned Russian TV presenter being the latest victim. His car was blown up in downtown Kiev and a government-led investigation yielded no results so far.

---------------

'UK, US look at jihadist groups as useful, are they as against terrorists as they pretend to be?'

RT.com27 Dec, 2018 15:30

A Times' article portraying Chechen jihadists as freedom fighters because they are anti-Russian is an attempt to whitewash a connection between the Ukrainian government and terrorist groups, former US diplomat Jim Jatras told RT.

The British newspaper published a highly controversial interview with a Chechen who is fighting against anti-government forces in Eastern Ukraine. The head of his battalion earlier admitted that his fighters waged jihad in Syria and that the leader was even part of a terror group committing atrocities in Russia.

"Some of the battalion's gunmen admit to having honed their combat skills at Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) training camps in Iraq and Syria," the article says.

Former US diplomat Jim Jatras, commenting on the timing of the article to RT, said that the editorial decision to let this information out now is perhaps because "somebody just discovered the significance of it" especially in light of President Trump's announcement to withdraw US troops from Syria after Islamic State's defeat.

He said that it has been known since 2014 that there are "Chechen fighters on the Kiev government side".

"This has been a magnet for anti-Russian elements from all sorts of countries, Georgia and from Europe, people fighting with these non-governmental militias that are allied with the Ukrainian forces. And some of them are very extreme, very radical ideologically. This should come as no surprise that somebody admits that they have this relationship with ISIS," he said.

The British establishment, including the media and intelligent services, have been at the forefront of the anti-Russian campaign even before the 2016 US presidential election, according to Jatras. "They even had this entire group that was set up within the British government to generate anti-Russian press material."

The point of this "disinformation against Russia", he said, is "not only to blacken Russia but to make sure there could be no rapprochement between Moscow and Washington as Donald Trump has said he wants to have. And this effort has been wildly successful."

"Portraying these Chechen jihadists as 'freedom fighters', because they are anti-Russian wouldn't be necessarily unusual for the British media and you would expect that," Jatras said.

In his view, "the real tit-bit was the fact that somebody overlooked the significance of these fellows admitting that they have this relationship with the Islamic State which supposedly is the big enemy that we have been fighting against in Syria… But nothing could be farther from the truth."

Jatras suggested that the US' real reason for being in Syria is "to try to get rid of the Assad government and also to block the Iranians and to thwart the Russian effort in that country."

He said that IS "at best has been a kind of 'frenemy' that we treated as an enemy sometimes but also find it useful for larger political goals there."

He thinks this story isn't "all that surprising given the bent of the British media."

Jatras believes the article to be an intentional attempt to whitewash the connection between the Ukrainian government and terrorist groups "while knowing that they are cooperating with the Ukrainian government."

The government in Kiev is chaotic, weak and "at the mercy of the extreme nationalist elements," the former diplomat said.

"Of course they can't control these groups like Azov battalion and others on the field. It shouldn't be surprising that when they invite other radical groups to participate in the war that are nominally not part of the official Ukrainian forces, they also cooperate with them while allowing them to continue on an independent basis. I don't see how that morally whitewashes or isolates the Ukrainian authorities from the radical politics of these terrorists," Jatras noted.

In Jatras' opinion, these jihadists have been the biggest threat to the Western world for the last couple of decades, however, the UK and the US government don't look at this that way.

"They look at these groups as useful. And this has a long history, not only going back to the efforts against the Soviets in Afghanistan, but to Bosnia, to Kosovo, to Libya, to Syria… The idea that we don't have this long relationship with these groups is extremely naive," Jatras said.

"How many people put two and two together and say 'wait a minute, this doesn't smell right.' Why is our government, why is the British government, which is a close ally of the US, working with these terrorist groups? I thought we were against terrorism. And I think it is very hard for a lot of people to look at this and say 'wait a minute, maybe we are not as against the terrorists as we pretend to be?'"

A court in the Ukrainian city of Kherson has prolonged the arrest of a Russian journalist held by Kiev on treason charges. Kiev refuses to release the man suffering from health issues despite criticism voiced by Moscow and OSCE.

The Kherson city court ruled that the head of RIA Novosti Ukraine news agency, Kirill Vyshinsky, would stay in jail at least until January 27, thus extending his arrest for another month, his lawyer told the Russian media. The court also dismissed the lawyer’s motions to release the journalist under his guarantees and the change of pretrial restraining order.

Vyshinsky’s health continues to deteriorate behind bars. He was taken to hospital during a court hearing in Kherson, in September. His lawyer said that the man suffered a heart attack in detention.

Ukrainian doctors argued that his health was satisfactory enough for him to stay in the cell. However, the defense believes that the medical check was not thorough enough.

The latest court decision provoked an angry response from Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded Kiev stop “arbitrary treatment” of the journalist and release him “immediately.” Moscow repeatedly called on Kiev to stop the persecution of journalists while Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has decried Vyshinsky’s arrest as “unprecedented.”

Earlier, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) also urged Ukraine to release the RIA employee and refrain from interfering with the freedom of the press. Vyshinsky was arrested more than seven months ago, in May, and charged with high treason.

Prosecutors claimed that he backed the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk while the journalist maintains he was doing his job and just covered the positions of both sides of the Ukrainian conflict.

---------------

Islamic State in Ukraine: A Christmas present from the West – George Galloway.

George Galloway, RT27 Dec, 2018 16:43

Islamist Chechen fighters who honed their combat skills at Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) training camps are at war against Ukrainian rebels, confirms the Times. Tumbleweed.

The report in British newspaper the Times, that Chechen Islamists, many reeling from defeat in Syria and Iraq amongst the alphabet soup of fanaticism, had indeed arrived at the war front in eastern Ukraine, woke me up from any Christmas torpor.

An earlier report in the New York Times had revealed that the Islamist Chechens were under the command of the fascist “Right Sector” and were there to “fight Russians” because “we like fighting Russians” and “will never stop fighting Russians.”

For the Times at Christmas it was enough to quote one of their commanders: “Putin is our common enemy.” A quote which of course could have come from the editor of the Times!

While the report was a wake-up call for me, not so the rest of the British media still less the British political class. Tumbleweed rolled over the media spaces where fear and loathing should have been. There was more interest in Strictly Come Dancing than the long bearded Islamist extremists, who were now, once again, our dancing partners in crime.

But it was always thus.

When I returned to the House of Commons in 2012 after a brief absence, I asked the then Prime Minister David Cameron if he had read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. And if so, if he had read it all the way to the end. The end in which the monster, the good doctor had so carelessly created, broke free from his control and began acting like, well, a monster.

On another occasion I was trapped in a lift briefly with the then Foreign Secretary William (now Lord) Hague. I told him: “William, you’ve been wrong before, in fact you’ve been wrong all your life. But you’ve never been insane before. This policy of putting knives in the hands of Islamist fanatics and allowing them to go to Syria is not just wrong, it’s insane.”

And one day, I added portentously: “Such men with such knives will be in this building and looking for you, looking for me.” Which came true just three years later.

My powers of prediction in parliament go back much further however.

On the eve of the fall of Kabul to the Islamist hordes nearly 30 years ago I told the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher: “You have opened the gates to the barbarians, and a long dark night will now descend upon the people of Afghanistan.”

It was certainly not the worst prediction I have ever made.

If I had been around at the time I would have issued the same alarm call about the British state adoption of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt against President Nasser, about British and US support for the obscurantists in the 1960s civil war in Yemen, about Israel’s adoption of what became Hamas in Gaza against President Arafat, about Western adoption of the extremists of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group against Gaddafi and many others. I would have warned them all: “Read Mary Shelley, read Frankenstein, and read it to the end.”

The policy of “my enemy’s enemy is my friend” is a deeply immoral one, and one which has repeatedly failed yet is repeatedly repeated.

In the mid-1990s I gave a lecture to the International Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party about knowledge I had acquired through working with the Saudi opposition in London that someone called Osama Bin Laden had been oriented by the United States towards the Xinjiang region in China to agitate amongst the Uighur Muslim minority there, to exacerbate their alienation from the state, to take advantage of the weaknesses of Chinese State policy towards their Muslim citizens. And to sow terror.

So novel was the name Osama Bin Laden then that the International Department cadres crowded round me at the end asking me to spell his name for them. So important was my news that a week later I had to do it again for the deputy foreign minister of China.

Back in 2015, the New York Times was at pains to point out that the fanatics who turned up at Mariupol were “unpaid volunteers” and that neither they nor their Right Sector commanders were paid or instructed by the United States special forces there nor for that matter by US officials. But that’s what they always say.

The US backs “moderate” fanatics only, just like in Syria. If you believe that, I have a bridge here in London I can sell you, going cheap.

It was bad enough when it was the Right Sector itself, assembled from half a dozen ultra-Nationalist groups like White Hammer, the Trident of Stepan Bandera, and the Azov Group which openly uses the “wolf’s hook” symbols of the SS.

These groups are open disciples of the anti-Semitic pogromists who fell upon their Jewish neighbours and murdered them during the Nazi Occupation of Ukraine. There was no need to wait for the trains or the concentration camps. And yet, they became instruments of policy for “liberal” “democracies”.

An axis of evil formed between them and the head-chopping, heart-eating, crucifying killers of Islamist extremism must mark a new low in Western policy. And the worst possible Christmas present for the Christians of eastern Ukraine.

---------------

Poroshenko’s Gambit Fails! Martial Law Ends in Ukraine, But Not Without Damage to Country.

Vesti NewsDec 27, 2018

Maybe Poroshenko had another plan in mind but today he announced that martial law is over. Neither the Western countries nor direct competitors were interested in disrupting the election. So the president of Ukraine didn't take the risk to prolong the shady enterprise which surprised voters nevertheless.

---------------

Well...on the other hand, this is the bare minimum of what a wall would be..

While certain politicians are still having difficulties getting their walls built, Russia has announced it had finished a border barrier between Ukraine and Crimea. Construction took just over a year and less than $3 million.

Bids for building the two-meter tall, 60-kilometer long fence separating the peninsula from Ukraine opened in September 2017. The Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the project’s completion on Thursday. The contract was estimated at approximately 200 million rubles, or $2.87 million at current exchange rates.

The fence is also reportedly equipped with high-technology surveillance devices, from vibration sensors to night vision cameras.

Russia’s ability to build a fence so quickly and at a fairly low cost has already prompted some snarky commentary about US President Donald Trump and his inability to even start construction of his wall on the border with Mexico.

Among the more constructive comments was the suggestion by one self-described American Russophile that Russia should be given the contract to build Trump’s wall. If the price of the Crimea fence were extrapolated for the length of the southern US border, that could be done for about $150 million, he said.

The US House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill with $5.3 billion for the wall and other border security measures earlier this month, but Democrats have refused to approve any funding for the wall, at all, ever. Trump has threatened to close the entire border if the obstruction continues. The impasse has led to a partial US government shutdown that has already lasted a week and shows no sign of ending any time soon.

Crimea was handed to Ukraine in 1954 by Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev. The residents voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia in March 2014, after the US-backed coup in Kiev.

---------------

We’ve Taken Control of the Grey Zone! Ukrainian Military Tells Tall Tale About Campaign in the East.

Vesti NewsDec 28, 2018

Eduard Basurin, spokesman of the DPR Defense Ministry: “According to Minsk, any advance in our direction is a direct violation of the Minsk Accords. It emphasizes once again that Ukraine is not for peace, as Poroshenko states, but they really want a war."

The Crimean Bridge is now secured from ramming attacks and onslaughts. Special constructions have secured the largest pillars which hold up the main span. Now, if a ship loses control and hits a pillar, both the hull and the pillar will remain undamaged. Moreover, they've furnished the main ship channel of the Crimean Bridge with all of the navigational equipment, necessary for safe shipping traffic.

Post by TsarSamuil on Dec 29, 2018 9:49:08 GMT -5

With the end of martial law imposed over the Kerch Strait incident, Kiev has lifted its entry ban for Russian men. But intensive searches of all Russian citizens at the border will continue, Ukraine’s customs chief has stated.

Ukraine temporarily banned Russian males, aged 16-60, into the country following the imposition of martial law last month. After Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko ended martial law this week, Kiev also announced the lifting of the travel restrictions for Russians.

Nevertheless, enhanced checks and “second line of control” at the border crossings with Russia by Ukrainian border guards continues. “We exercise increased control over the entry of foreigners into Ukraine,” spokesman for Ukraine’s border agency, Oleg Slobodyan, said Friday, noting that Russians remain a primary threat among their list of some 70 “migration risk” countries.

“The State Border Service continues to monitor... all Russian citizens, clarifying the purpose of their visit to Ukraine,” before allowing them to enter the country, he added, noting that Russians might be forced to provide “additional documents.”

Last month Kiev imposed martial law in Ukraine’s 10 border regions as a result of the Kerch Strait dispute, when three Ukrainian Navy vessels, including two combat-ready gunboats, entered the Kerch Strait without getting proper clearance first, according to Moscow. After ignoring multiple warnings and demands to stop, they were fired upon and then were seized by the Russian coast guard, while the sailors were taken to custody.

A Bulgarian Orthodox priest has condemned the actions of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is set to grant self-rule to a schismatic Orthodox church in Ukraine – contrary to the religion’s canonic law.

A day before millions of Orthodox Ukrainians celebrate Christmas, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople plans to grant independence to a freshly created ‘Orthodox Church of Ukraine’ – a unified body of two schismatic churches in the country.

The Russian Orthodox Church, which was the supreme Orthodox authority over Ukrainian territory for centuries, denies Constantinople’s claim over Ukraine and says its autonomous branch, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, remains the only canonical Orthodox organization in the country.

“For him, the canonical law is not important... He does not act in the interests of the Orthodox Church, but against it,” Fr Bozhidar said, praising members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate for their defense of the faith.

The unification of two schismatic Orthodox churches in Ukraine was personally spearheaded by President Petro Poroshenko with the full backing of the US government. While Patriarch Bartholomew’s “plan” focused on “splitting the unity of the Orthodox Church,” the United States “took advantage of the situation” to drive yet another stake in Russian-Ukrainian relations, the Bulgarian clergyman explained.

The government in Kiev claims that Orthodoxy in Ukraine needs to be separated from Moscow’s influence. In practice, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a self-ruled entity with its own central governing body, which has ties to Moscow mostly in a spiritual sense. The Moscow Patriarchate was granted jurisdiction over Ukraine by Constantinople back in 1686, and the actions of Patriarch Bartholomew rely on the claim that the decision can be arbitrarily revoked by Constantinople.

After Constantinople’s move, Moscow declared that it was no longer in communion with it. Other canonical Orthodox churches throughout the world, including the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, will now be forced to choose between sides in the unfolding conflict.

---------------

Russia bans $500 million worth of imports from Ukraine in retaliatory sanctions.

RT.com29 Dec, 2018 14:09

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a ban on the import of more than 50 Ukrainian goods, worth $510 million. The move comes in response to recently prolonged Kiev’s embargo on Russian products.

The list, published by the Russian government on Saturday, includes mainly industrial goods, agricultural products, raw materials, and food. The products that fell under the ban are wheat, sunflower oil, sweets, chocolate, bread, bakery, vegetables, fruits, beer, caviar, fish and canned fish, Sanctions also target engines and power generators, tractors, turbines, and some other equipment and goods.

“Russia has introduced a ban on imports of a number of Ukrainian goods. This is a retaliatory measure against Ukrainian restrictions. I signed the corresponding decree,” Medvedev wrote on Twitter Saturday.

Sanctioned Ukrainian goods amount to $510 million, according to preliminary evaluations of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, cited by Interfax. It added that overall imports from Ukraine last year amounted to nearly $5 billion.

The restrictions can be lifted if Kiev gives up its own restrictions targeting specific Russian goods.

On December 18, the Ukrainian government extended its embargo on the import of Russian foods until the end of 2019. The restrictions targeted more than 30 products, some of them similar to the Russian list published on Saturday. The list includes bread, bakery, chocolate, sweets, meat, fish, coffee, black tea, infant food, some alcoholic beverages among other goods. Russian railway equipment also fell under Kiev's ban, including locomotives, railcars, trains and switch throwers.

Russia and Ukraine terminated their free trade deal in 2016, after the trade part of Kiev’s association agreement with the European Union came into force. Ukraine was automatically included in Russia’s sanctions against the EU imposed by Moscow back in 2014 as a response to European sanctions linked to the events in post-government coup Ukraine.

Despite the bilateral restrictions, trade turnover between Russia and Ukraine has increased in 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced during his annual press conference earlier this month. Ukrainian statistics show that Russia remains its largest trade partner. In 2017, the turnover between the two nations increased by more than 28 percent and amounted to $9.3 billion.

Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 2, 2019 12:47:25 GMT -5

While the world celebrates the new year, Ukraine has marked the birthday of Stepan Bandera, a nationalist leader and Nazi ally, regarded as a hero by many in the country. From 2019, the day is an official holiday.

Thousands of people carrying Ukrainian flags, torches and chanting pro-Bandera slogans marched in the center of Kiev on Tuesday. A similar event — on a smaller scale — was held in city of Lvov in the west of the country.

While Ukrainian nationalists have been gathering annually for the birthday anniversary of Bandera, this year January 1 became an official national holiday. The legislation was approved this December by the Ukrainian Parliament.

Bandera, who was born on January 1, 1909, was a prominent leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (UPA). The group which was created between the two world wars primarily fought against Poland, Czechoslovakia (modern Slovakia and Czech Republic) and the Soviet Union for an independent national state for Ukrainians. While at first it was mostly propaganda, the methods later started to become more cruel and abusive.

The organization collaborated with the Third Reich long before World War II, hoping to get more assistance for its cause. Before the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Bandera was actively working with the Reich’s special services. Yet when the UPA was no longer useful for Nazi regime, it was subjected to a crackdown. Bandera was arrested in 1941 and spent three years in prison before being released as a potential organizer of resistance to the advancing Soviet troops.

After his release, Bandera, as well as his nationalist group was actively supported by Western intelligence. He continued his life in Germany and by the 1950s he and his family were residing in Munich. But his past made him the target of several reported assassination attempts. In 1959, a KGB agent shot him fatally with a cyanide dart gun.

Despite his biography, modern Ukraine views Stepan Bandera a hero. His legendary status was made official in 2010 when then-president Viktor Yushchenko gave the highest state merit to Bandera’s grandson. Bandera’s sympathizers insist that he had no control over the violence conducted by UPA’s militant wing, which included mass killings of Poles and Jews during the war.

“Bandera is a typical representative of the ideology of 'political Ukrainianism',” Oleg Nemensky, a leading researcher at Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, told RT. This position implies imposing its will “on the passive majority by an active minority,” he added.

Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 2, 2019 17:22:57 GMT -5

New Year’s On the Front; A Soldier's Deployment in Donbass is Filled With Music and Celebration.

Vesti NewsJan 2, 2019

For Donbas, the year was tough but successful heroic, and beautiful. It was beautiful primarily thanks to the tours of the Russian musicians.

---------------

Scouts and Saboteurs; Inside Look at Cat and Mouse Game Played Behind the Scenes in Donbass.

Vesti NewsJan 3, 2019

A truce has begun in Donbass. Fire has ceased at the front line. The loud war has been rendered to a silent one. Now it's time of scouts and saboteurs. It's that special time for studying each others' positions and for infiltrating.

Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 12, 2019 3:29:19 GMT -5

Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew has signed a decree (tomos)granting autocephaly or self-rule to the newly established Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The ceremony at St. George’s Cathedral in Istanbul was attended by top Ukrainian officials, including President Petro Poroshenko. Bartholomew announced his decision to grant Ukraine’s request for its own Orthodox Church independent from Moscow in October last year. The Russian Orthodox Church responded to the controversial move by cutting all ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. Granting self-rule to the new Ukrainian Church was “non-canonical and illegal… and will only bring trouble, division, and sin to Ukraine,” Vasily Anisimov, the spokesman for now-persecuted Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, told RIA-Novosti. The divide in the Orthodox world caused by Bartholomew’s decision may last “for decades or even centuries,” Metropolitan Hilarion, Moscow Patriarchate spokesman, said.

---------------

Not the Migrants Europe Wants! Ukrainian Immigrants Experience Different Side of EU Hospitality.

Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 12, 2019 3:29:35 GMT -5

Just one day before Orthodox Christmas, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I gave an official decree to the new Kiev-established religious entity, granting it the right to ‘self-rule.’

The Patriarch’s decree – known as tomos – was given to Metropolitan Bishop Epifaniy, the self-styled head of the new ‘church.’

It has been brought back to Ukraine on Orthodox Christmas Eve. On January 7, Christmas Day, a celebration and rally will take place in Kiev.

The Ecumenical Patriarch, who is considered ‘first among equals’ in the Orthodox world, said the Ukrainians “have awaited this blessed day for seven entire centuries.” He claimed they could now enjoy “the sacred gift of emancipation, independence and self-governance, becoming free from every external reliance and intervention,” as cited by AP.

The tomos was signed in the presence of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Metropolitan Epifaniy, who traveled to Istanbul specifically for the occasion.

Poroshenko, who came to power following the Western-backed 2014 coup, began to push for the Ukrainian Church’s independence from the Moscow Patriarchy several months before the 2019 presidential elections. Now, nurturing the Orthodox Church of Ukraine remains part of his electoral campaign.

The creation of the new entity has been vehemently opposed by the only canonical, internationally recognized Orthodox church in the country – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is a constituent part of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Russian Orthodox Church called the new religious organization unlawful under canonic law, warning that it would have devastating impact on the centuries-old spiritual bond between Moscow and Kiev. The state’s involvement in the process is seen as particularly destabilizing. Russian Patriarch Kirill recently accused Poroshenko of “blatant interference in church affairs” that would lead to a “civilizational catastrophe.”

The decision may the be beginning of a lasting schism in the global Orthodoxy and risks triggering conflicts among Ukraine’s Orthodox believers, observers say. “What happened due to the help of Patriarch Bartholomew is a legitimized split that existed during the last 30 years,” said Archbishop Kliment, spokesperson of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“Instead of healing the schism, instead of uniting Orthodoxy, we’ve got an even bigger rift that exists exclusively for political reasons,” he maintained.

Constantinople’s decision was met with criticism not only from the Moscow Patriarchate but by some other Orthodox churches as well. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East John X said it is “unreasonable to mend the schism [in Ukraine] at the cost of the unity of the Orthodox world.”

The whole issue should first have been assessed and discussed with all other Orthodox churches to avoid “dangers that would lead to peace and unity neither in Ukraine, nor in the Orthodox world,” John X said in a letter addressed to Bartholomew I.

What Kiev is doing is “very dangerous because if, let’s just say, a number of autocephalous churches do not accept the Ukrainian new church, then we will have a schism, a break,” Fr Mark Tyson, an American Orthodox priest and rector of a West Virginia-based church, explained to RT. “This is the most serious question we’ve faced in close to a thousand years,” he added.

Many Ukrainian Orthodox believers belong to the Moscow church and “show no sign” of desire to stick with the newly created Orthodox Church of Ukraine, said Alexander Dvorkin, professor of Church History at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University. Meanwhile, the new church will not be completely independent as it is likely to be “[tightly] controlled by Constantinople.”

A torchlight march was held in downtown Kiev. For the first time, Ukraine officially celebrated the birthday of Stepan Bandera, a nationalist leader and Nazi collaborator. Despite the importance of the holiday, the turnout at the rally wasn't very high. The number of participants barely exceeded the number of police officers guarding them. But the rally was noticed, surprisingly, by those who, up until recently, hadn't been paying any attention to how Kiev has been flirting with fascist ideology.

---------------

Ukraine: Decree of autocephaly on display during Christmas celebrations in Kiev.

RuptlyJan 7, 2019

The Metropolitan of Kiev Epiphanius and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko brought the 'Tomos' scroll (decree of autocephaly for Orthodox Church of Ukraine) to the Christmas liturgy in St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev on Monday.

Worshippers can be seen congregating outside the church singing songs and being greeted by Poroshenko, and later on taking photos of the Tomos.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodoxy, recognised the move to independence of the breakaway church from the Russian Orthodox Church on October.

The Tomos was signed by Bartholomew on Saturday.

---------------

Ukraine: 'We threw off the shackles' - Poroshenko on church autocephaly decree.

RuptlyJan 7, 2019

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that with the creation of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the country had thrown off "the shackles that tied us to Moscow," after attending a Christmas liturgy at St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev on Monday.

Standing next to the 'tomos', a decree proclaiming autocephaly for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Poroshenko described it as "the key" to the country's independence and the "foundation of our spiritual freedom."

He also said that for Ukraine "nothing is impossible, we stand in solidarity and act together as a united Ukrainian nation."

He concluded his speech by saying that following the principle 'the eyes fear, but the hands do,' Ukraine will become a member of the European Union and NATO.

Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 12, 2019 3:35:04 GMT -5

22yo Ukrainian held after trying to transport howitzer artillery over Polish border.

RT.com9 Jan, 2019 16:46

In the first extreme gun-running case of 2019, a 22-year-old Ukrainian man has been detained in Dorohusk, Poland after he attempted to bring a dismantled howitzer artillery piece across the Polish-Ukrainian border.

The arrest took place Friday and an investigation into how the man came to be in possession of such firepower has been launched by the Internal Security Agency under the supervision of the District Prosecutor's Office in Chełm, reports The Polska Times.

The as yet unidentified Ukrainian had documentation with him, but these were insufficient for the type of weaponry he was attempting to transport. The cannon was dismantled and placed in marked crates.

The howitzer’s range can extend several dozen kilometers in newer models and the self-propelled artillery can be transported via tracked chassis or slung behind heavy vehicles.

In April 2017, two women and two men from Ukraine were arrested at the Polish border for attempting to transport an anti-aircraft gun into Ukraine.

They were caught attempting to cross into Ukraine with a Soviet-era, 30 mm AK-630 artillery system, typically mounted on warships and used against targets such as guided missiles, planes, helicopters and even smaller ground-based vehicles.

Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 12, 2019 3:41:21 GMT -5

Speaking about the situation in Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill spoke out about the precarious state of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. On the festival of Christmas, Rossiya 1 Channel broadcast the traditional Christmas Interview with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church answered the questions of Dmitry Kiselyov, journalist and TV-host, General Director of the Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency.

---------------

No Quiet on the Eastern Front: Ukrainian Military Violates Christmas Truce and Focuses on Sabotage.

Vesti NewsJan 10, 2019

Over the past day, the Ukrainian military violated the Christmas truce at least five times. Fire was opened on DPR areas adjacent to the contact line.

---------------

Ukrainian neo-Nazi mob boss pictured next to Poroshenko in church inauguration ceremony.

RT.com11 Jan, 2019 18:27

As Ukraine inaugurated its breakaway Orthodox Church on Christmas, President Petro Poroshenko stood proud for the ceremony. A few meters away stood the head of a violent neo-Nazi group.

Evgen Karas is the leader of the C14 radical nationalist group. Denying neo-Nazi leanings, he says he merely has a problem with Russians, Poles, and Jews controlling Ukrainian politics and economics.

Karas proudly posted a picture of himself standing next to Poroshenko in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, where the tomos – the Constantinople Patriarch's decree on the Ukrainian church's autonomy – was inaugurated.

Karas and his group came to the spotlight in 2018 after being linked to violent crackdowns on Roma camps. C14 itself says it only dismantled illegal settlements to clear public spaces, and did so peacefully.

Karas himself is not one to hide his violent views. In a November 2018 interview he said it's OK to let a mob beat a pro-Russian journalist to death.

Two C14 members are being accused of murdering opposition journalist Oles Buzina.

Among the violent cases linked to C14 are an attack on a "pro-Russian" journalist's lawyers in the courtroom (where they reportedly came armed with knives) and the stabbing of an anti-war activist, among numerous others.

Despite all of those credentials, Kiev officials seem to be looking the other way when it comes to C14 and other radicals – even reportedly signing an agreement with them to allow "citizen patrols" in the streets of the capital.

Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 16, 2019 16:08:59 GMT -5

Putin on Ukrainian Orthodox schism: Forcing flock into foreign church is a risky ploy.

RT.com16 Jan, 2019 12:50

Kiev is risking a major crisis with its ploy to legitimize schismatic Orthodox Christian churches with the help from Constantinople, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. Telling people where to pray is a bad idea.

Last month, Ukraine’s two unrecognized Orthodox churches backed by the government of President Petro Poroshenko formed a new religious organization. In January, Patriarch Bartholomew I of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople formally recognized it as a canonical entity and part of his patriarchate and granted it partial independence. Poroshenko is relying on this development to boost his approval ratings ahead of the presidential election in March, which he is likely to lose, according to polls.

Speaking to Serbian media on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the entire affair as a purely political ploy that has nothing to do with faith and religion.

“The new church structure is a secular political project. Its main goal is to separate the peoples of Russia and Ukraine, fuel religious division in addition to national ones. It’s no coincidence that Kiev declared it as an ‘ultimate independence from Moscow,’” he said.

Bartholomew’s move is based on a claim that Constantinople can revoke the right of the Russian Orthodox Church to appoint the highest Orthodox Christian bishop in Ukraine, which was recognized in the late 17th century. The Russian patriarchy rejects this and says that by recognizing Ukrainian schismatic priests as canonical Constantinople has tainted itself spiritually. The Moscow-based church in response broke both diplomatic and spiritual ties with the Constantinople patriarchate.

Other independent Orthodox Churches are now in a tricky position, where they have to choose between Moscow and Constantinople in the conflict. The Serbian Orthodox Church sided with Russia.

The Russian Orthodox Church is represented in Ukraine by an autonomous self-governing entity called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. There are fears that the Ukrainian government will now be twisting the arms of its priests to force them and their flock to pledge allegiance to Constantinople.

Putin stressed that the Russian government will not get involved in the affairs of the church, especially in another nation, but said that Kiev’s policy is shortsighted.

“The Ukrainian leadership must realize that the attempt to force the faithful into a foreign church risks serious consequences,” he said. “Still they are willing to sacrifice religious peace just to give the incumbent president a chance to campaign on a platform of hunting for enemies and preserve his power at any cost.”

---------------

Ukrainian nationalist schismatics seize church and disrespect priest.

Orthodox ChurchJan 16, 2019

Orthodox Church in Zhytomyr region of Ukraine, was seized by the nationalist schismatics, the members of the radical "Svoboda" party seized the village's church, pushed the priest and believers outside the church's yard, and afterwards interrupted the prayers of the parish by chanting Ukraine's national anthem. Nationalist schismatics all over Ukraine are seizing churches by force from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church since Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew gave Autocephaly to the Ukrainian nationalist schismatic sect.

Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 19, 2019 9:02:25 GMT -5

Poroshenko Wants to “Flood” the Donbass; Litter the Entire Region With Explosives and Landmines.

Vesti NewsJan 17, 2019

The Special Monitoring Mission saw for the first time two dark green square wooden boxes with wires connected to them attached to the metal gates of a sluice on the northern side of the Myronivsky reservoir and close to a checkpoint of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the town of Roty, that's government-controlled and is 41 miles north-east of Donetsk.

---------------

Ukraine rushes through watered-down law on 'robbing church property'

RT.com18 Jan, 2019 12:05

Ukrainian lawmakers have passed a law on church property changing hands after last-minute changes to its most controversial parts, such as the arbitrary seizure of churches which has been made a bit more difficult.

The legislation, passed by the Ukrainian parliament on Thursday, was filed in 2016 and was widely perceived to be part of Kiev's campaign to curb the influence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the self-governing branch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The controversial bill dubbed 'robbing church property' sought to amend Ukraine's law on religious freedoms by establishing a procedure, under which a religious community could formally change its allegiance. It said 'self-identified' members, or a community, could hold a gathering and vote to switch from one religious organization to another by a simple majority. This would result, among other things, in the property belonging to the community, like a church building, changing hands.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church saw the bill as a threat to its rights. It would allow, for example, a malicious actor to use rent-a-crowd tactics to legally snatch property. A group of people bussed to a small town could simply declare themselves members of its Orthodox community and force it to become part of a Kiev-backed religious organization.

Other religious groups voiced objection to the bill too. Ukrainian Lutherans rejected the very idea that a person may self-identify as one, since they accept people into their community only after teaching him or her how to be one, for example. Some Muslim communities voiced concerns that their mosques could be seized and converted into Christian churches under the proposed law.

Even the Ukrainian Parliament's own judiciary committee recommended rejecting the bill in 2016, saying that this part of public life should not be regulated by the secular national government.

As the voting date for the bill came this week, Speaker Andrey Parubiy unexpectedly announced that it needs to be changed, because, as it was, "the bill does not address all procedural and judicial nuances". The changes would take into account recommendations from the EU, he announced.

An amended version, which rushed through all steps necessary to put it to the final vote, allows religious communities to decide themselves who is and who is not a member. The change of allegiance will also require a two-third majority rather than a simple one. The bill also included wording to ensure that a community conflicted over which organization it should belong to would not suddenly lose its property.

On the other hand, the bill now requires that a religious community answering to a "foreign control center" in any way should reflect this in its charter and register as such with the Ukrainian authorities. The provision is in line with another controversial law, which is meant to force the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to add the word "Russian" to its name.

But even with the changes, the bill had a hard time in the parliament. The speaker had to put it to the vote several times before it scored enough votes to pass the necessary threshold of 226 votes. It was ultimately passed by a narrow 229 majority.

Ukraine's Orthodox turmoil has been viewed as a key part of the reelection campaign of President Petro Poroshenko, who is currently touring the country with a document signed by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. The decree handed over earlier this year gives a newly-created 'Orthodox Church of Ukraine' a degree of autonomy within the Constantinople Patriarchy, although the Ukrainian president claims that it gives the church he supports full independence.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine was formed in December from the clergy of two schismatic churches, whom Constantinople decided to recognize as its own. The move was denounced by the Russian Orthodox Church, which sees it as an infringement on its canonical territory that had made spiritual communion between the two leading Orthodox Churches no longer possible.

Shoutbox

Proto-Orchid: @ussrstrong: I blame general low activity on social medias, all the people sit there todayOct 10, 2018 12:53:50 GMT -5

reznik: @proto-Orchid: very true. What's worse, is that the system is designed specifically to keep those people dormant in their echo chambers. Nothing new to learn for them there, just stupid cat videos and such. Sad.Oct 14, 2018 5:48:26 GMT -5

Proto-Orchid: Its the substitute for going out, meeting and spending your time with friends in real life. Its just part of the story. When I was younger I remember people were meeting to play team sports, but today you see completely autistic people jogging with iPhone.Oct 14, 2018 18:18:38 GMT -5

Proto-Orchid: Then they come back home, put pictures on Instagram or Facebook to show off how they spent their time jogging, and as mental satisfaction they get few likes or hearts, or whatever social medias have today, which is a measure of how good their life is. SickOct 14, 2018 18:21:43 GMT -5

Pan-Slavic Patriot: Sto Latz! Today marks 100 years of Polska! May there be 100 more! Wish I could have gone to the Independence March to celebrate this year, of all years. Theres always the next one to look forward to...Nov 11, 2018 6:56:57 GMT -5

Pan-Slavic Patriot: The latest flare up in the Ukraine-Russia conflict is painful to watch. Two brothers pit against one-another by foriegn elites, for what? Money and power... Sad.Nov 30, 2018 3:17:07 GMT -5

gioblack94: Hello,I'm the representative of the Bulgarians and the main coordinator of Bulgaria of a movement called:"The slavic movement".Our mission is to create a slavic union and we welcome everybody who wants to join our cause:https://discord.gg/gMh2ZmMay 18, 2020 9:10:02 GMT -5

WhiteGaysack: And what do you think OUR mission is since 2004?Jun 5, 2020 14:56:11 GMT -5